Difficult conditions for Maximilian Günther at the ABB Formula E season opener

The ABB Formula E debut of Maximilian Günther could not have been more turbulent. Rain on Saturday morning shortened the practice time and made the race day in Riyadh a real test of patience. Maximilian Günther defied the adverse conditions at his first race with GEOX DRAGON and finished in 15th position at the season opener of the all-electric championship.

Heavy rain in the Saudi Arabian desert was the reason why the first free practice session on early Saturday morning could not be started. Driving would have been too dangerous as it was too wet around the 2.495 kilometre track. There was also a delay in the start of the second practice session due to the wet track conditions.

At 10:15 local time, the ABB Formula E racers finally went out on the track with a three-hour delay, but the practice had to be interrupted after about ten minutes after an accident of a driver. When the practice session resumed, Maximilian was able to do some laps on the new track and finished in ninth position with a best lap time of 1:19.909 minutes.

Due to the delay in the morning, the qualifying started late, too. The second qualifying group, in which the 21-year-old German started, had to struggle with difficult conditions and a changed grip level. The GEOX DRAGON driver touched the barriers on his fastest lap and only finished 21st.

Before the start of the race, the track was mostly dry and only wet in a few places. Maximilian adapted to the changed conditions and had some fights for position with his competitors. After 33 laps, he finished in 15th position.

At the next race in Marrakech (12th January 2019), Maximilian wants to learn from his experience at the season opener and to have a better result. Before that, he will participate in the official test of ABB Formula E with GEOX DRAGON on Sunday (16th December).

Maximilian Günther: “I didn’t expect that my my first race in ABB Formula E with GEOX DRAGON will be that turbulent! The rain in the morning mixed up the complete schedule and there was only little time to get familiar with the track. Unfortunately, I touched the wall in qualifying and therefore, I had to start from the back of the grid. Given the circumstances, the 16th place in the race is quite okay. My goal is to score points in the next race.”